Exhaust gas burners



1969 A. ARONSOHN EXHAUST GAS BURNERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 9, 1965M o p WW I Z f m M mm 9 /Wmm f l'. mp w? g- A. ARONSOHN 3,460,916

EXHAUST GAS BURNERS Filed July 9, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet I In verfl'br ,4//grouse/1n flff'orne s Aug. 12, 1969 A. ARONSOHN EXHAUST GAS BURNERS 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 9. 1965 Ma Hfibrne -s United States PatentU.S. Cl. 23288 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Exhaust gas burnerhaving an elongated combustion chamber for connection to an exhaust gasconduit to permit exhaust gases to flow therethrough having an exhaustgas inlet, an exhaust gas outlet and an air inlet. A liner of catalyzingmaterial on the walls of said chamber for continuous ignition ofcombustible components in the supplied exhaust gases which afterinitiated preheating is kept warm by the combustion in the combustionchamber. A turbulator disposed in the combustion chamber dividing itinto two compartments communicating with each other through theturbulator. One of the compartments being defined between saidturbulator and an end wall of the combustion chamber at which theexhaust gas inlet is arranged. The other of said compartments beingdefined between the turbulator and an end wall of the combustion chamberat which the exhaust gas outlet is arranged. The last named compartmentis a second afterburning zone. The turbulator has a nose facing theexhaust gas inlet.

This invention relates to an exhaust gas burner for internal combustionengines, furnaces, evacuating plants and the like for the combustion ofinter alia unburnt hydrocarbons and carbon oxide which occur in theexhaust gases by reason of incomplete combustion in the engine orfurnace.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an exhaust gas burnerwhich can function continuously without a particular heat source andwithout being clogged by solid particles accompanying the exhaust gases,and which can be manufactured at low costs to enable extensive use, forinstance in motor vehicles.

The invention provides an exhaust gas burner comprising an elongatedcombustion chamber which is intended for connection in an exhaust gasconduit to permit exhaust gases to flow therethrough and which for thispurpose has an exhaust gas inlet and an exhaust gas outlet and isequipped with an inlet for taking air into the combustion chamber, andan insert of catalyzing material in the combustion chamber forcontinuous ignition of combustible components occurring in the suppliedexhaust gases, said insert being adapted to be kept Warm by thecombustion in the combustion chamber.

For better elucidation the invention will be described in more detail inthe following with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section of an embodiment of the exhaust gas burneraccording to the invention, intended for use with motor vehicles;

FIG. 2 is an axial section of another embodiment of the exhaust gasburner according to the invention, likewise intended for use with motorvehicles;

FIG. 3 is a section on line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an axial section of a third embodiment of the exhaust gasburner according to the invention, also intended for use with motorvehicles.

The exhaust gas burner shown in FIG. 1 comprises by fireproof sheet ironor sheet steel. An exhaust gas inlet pipe 11 is disposed at one end ofthe combustion chamice ber, and for supplying preheated air throughinjector action produced by the exhaust gas flow of the engine there isarranged coaxially with the exhaust gas inlet pipe 11 a pipe 12communicating with the atmosphere, and on said pipe 12 there is arrangeda further coaxial pipe 13 for supplying air by means of a turbine-drivenfan or the like. The supplied air may have been preheated in the wateror air cooling system of the engine and is further preheated in that itsweeps along the exhaust inlet pipe 11 and pipe 12, respectively.Furthermore, the combustion chamber has an ignition element 14 which maybe a spark plug or glow plug which may be placed inside a perforatedpro-chamber and which may be cut in with the ignition key of the car orby means of a thermostat, and a perforated turbulator 15 (i.e., anelement creating a turbulence or vortex action) having a nose 15' whichis coaxial with the pipes 1113. The turbulator has for its purposes toprovide an intimate mixture of exhaust gases and air in the combustionchamber and is adjustable longitudinally of the combustion chamber withthe aid of screws 16. It delimits an equalization and after burning zone10 in the combustion chamber at the very outlet end of said chamber.Disposed around the pipe 12 is an annulus 17 which has an internalconical surface 17' which widen towards the interior of the combustionchamber. This annulus is likewise adjustable longitudinally of thecombustion chamber with the aid of screws 18. The annulus 17 serves toprevent pressure shocks in the combustion chamber from being transferredrearwardly, i.e. against the intended direction of flow of the exhaustgases, into the pipes 12 and 13. This action may be improved in that theannulus is formed with a neck portion 17" which surrounds the pipe 12leaving an annular space to said pipe 12. By this arrangement the airentering the combustion chamber 10 through the pipe 12 exerts aninjector action upon the air in the pipe 13, and said injector actionmay be so pronounced that a specific fan or the like for supplying airthrough the pipe 13 may possibly be disposed with. As the annulus 17,possibly together with the associated neck portion 17', and theturbulator 15 are adjustable longitudinally of the combustion chamber 10one and the same combustion chamber is easily adaptable to differentengine types. A socket 19 is provided at the other end of the combustionchamber for the connection of the exhaust gas burner to an outlet pipe.

For maintaining the combustion in the combustion chamber after thelatter has reached a certain temperature, a minimum of 550 0., withoutthe intermediary of the ignition element 14 the combustion chamber 11 isinternally coated with a possibly corrugated liner 20 of catalyzingporous solid ceramic material, for instance Alumo 60 manufactured byHoganas-Billesholms AB, Hoganas, Sweden, in which ceramic material theremay be incorporated a catalyst, for instance a metal powder such asvanadium powder. The nose 15 is of the same type of material and so isthe annulus 17. The liner 20 may also be formed by granules enclosed ina cage of heat-resistant metal-wire netting.

It is important that the exhaust gas burner is placed as close aspossible to the internal combustion engine or furnace in order that ahigh temperature may be maintained in the exhaust gas burner, and forfacilitating the mounting of the exhaust gas burner shown in FIG. 1,which is intended for use with motor vehicles, a clamping nut 21 isarranged on the outer side of the combustion chamber 10 so that saidchamber can be mounted directly on the cast exhaust gas pipe of theengine.

The embodiment according to FIGS. 2 and 3 includes a sheet steel can 24forming the combustion chamber and having a catalyzing ceramic liner 25possibly with a catalyst incorporated therein. A nose 26 is encased in asheet metal can 28 which is axially adjustable and arrestable inadjusted position, for instance by means of a screw 27, said can 28having an annular and cup-shaped Wall 29 with apertures 30 and formingan afterburning zone 31 to which an outlet conduit 32 is connected. Theliner 25 is accessible to gas in the afterburning zone 31 through holes28 in the shell of the can 28. Secured to the other end wall 33 of thecan 25 is a cylinder 34 having a flange 35 for the connection of thecylinder to the manifold 36 of the internal combustion engine. Apartition 37 between an exhaust gas inlet pipe 38 and the cylinder 34divides said cylinder into two chambers 39 and 40, the chamber 39 beingconnected to a suction air conduit 41, possibly provided with an aircleaner, and the chamber 40 via a pressure air conduit 42 to an air pump43 which may be driven by means of a belt from the shaft of the internalcombustion engine. Two pipes 44 and 45 enter the end wall 33 and formtogether with the pipe 38 two channels each having a semiannular opening46 and 47, respectively, leading to the chamber 39 and 40, respectively.The pipe 44 supports a ring 48 preventing back-firing and consisting ofa thin wall of heat-resistant metal-wire netting with catalyst materialapplied thereto, or of a thicker body 49 of the same material as theparts 25 and 26, or of soap-stone coated or covered with catalystmaterial on the inwardly facing surface. The pipes 38, 44 and 45 can besupported inter se by means of some axially extending webs or Wings 50.A glow plug or spark plug 51 is disposed in the wall of the combustionchamber.

In FIG. 4, 52 designates a sheet metal can comprising a catalyzingceramic liner 52, a fixation flange 54 for the engine manifold 55, anexhaust gas inlet pipe 56, an air intake 57 possibly connected to an airpump and leading into a pipe 58, a gas outlet 59 connected to an annularchannel 60 between the liner 53 and the pipe 58, and a glow plug 61disposed in a central nose 62 of the linear or laterally mounted as inFIG. 2.

In the three embodiments of the invention herein described the exhaustgases from the internal combustion engine are mixed in the combustionchamber with the air supplied thereto and the resulting combustiblemixture is ignited initially, that is when the internal combustionengine and as a consequence the combustion chamber is cold, by means ofthe ignition element (the spark plug or glow plug). After combustion hasbeen initiated and the ceramic catalyst has been heated to thetemperature required to make the combustion proceed by itself under theaction of the catalyst, which may be in a glowing state, the ignitionelement may be disconnected. As already stated, the ignition element canbe cut in by means of the ignition key in order to be cut out by a timerelay or like device a certain time after it has been cut in. However,the ignition element may also be cut in and cut out by a thermostatwhich senses the temperature in the combustion chamber.

The combustion in the combustion chamber is realized by a torus flamearound the nose of the turbulator on the side thereof which faces theexhaust gas stream. The flow of the gases in the combustion chamber isindicated by arrows in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. A certain afterburning takesplace in the embodiment according to FIG. 1 and that according to FIGS.2 and 3, after the burning gases have passed through the openings of theturbulator, in the afterburning zone situated between the turbulator andthe outlet, and in the embodiment according to FIG. 4 in the annularchannel 60.

The exhaust gas burner described is also useful in connection with coalor oil-fired furnaces, such as boilers. In that connection the ignitionelement may be dispensed with.

Not only the exhaust gases from the cylinders of the internal combustionengine but also carbon oxide or hydrocarbon-laden gases from thecrankcase of the internal combustion engine may be supplied to theexhaust gas combustion chamber.

T 0 provide the necessary turbulence in the combustion chamber theexhaust gas inlet may be arranged tangentially in a cylindricalcombustion chamber having an axial outlet, in order that air and gasshall pass through the combustion chamber under rotary motion in thesame way as in a cyclone apparatus, thereby sweeping over the catalystdisposed as a liner in the chamber. In other modified embodiments of theinvention the combustion chamber may have a cross section other thancircular, for instance rectangular.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Exhaust gas burner comprising an elongated combustion chamber forconnection to an exhaust gas conduit to permit exhaust gases to flowtherethrough having an exhaust gas inlet, an exhaust gas outlet and anair inlet, a liner of catalyzing material on the walls of said chamberfor continuous ignition of combustible components in the suppliedexhaust gases, said liner after initiated preheating being kept warm bythe combustion in said combustion chamber, a turbulator disposed in saidcombustion chamber dividing said combustion chamber into twocompartments communicating with each other through said turbulator, oneof said compartments being defined between said turbulator and an endwall of said combustion chamber at which said exhaust gas inlet isarranged, and the other of said compartments being defined between saidturbulator and an end wall of said combustion chamber at which saidexhaust gas outlet is arranged, said last named compartment being asecond afterburning zone and said turbulator having a nose facing saidexhaust gas inlet.

2. An exhaust gas burner according to claim 1 wherein the surface ofsaid nose is of a catalyzing solid material.

3. An exhaust gas burner according to claim 1, wherein an annulus isprovided in said combustion chamber between said exhaust gas inlet andsaid turbulator, said annulus being adjustable longitudinally of saidcombustion chamber and having an internal conical surface which widenstowards the interior of said combustion chamber.

4. An exhaust gas burner according to claim 3, wherein the annulus isformed with a neck surrounding the air inlet and leaving a space to saidinlet, said space communieating with a second air inlet.

5. An exhaust gas burner according to claim 3, wherein the surface ofsaid annulus comprises a catalyzing solid material.

'6. An exhaust gas burner according to claim 3, wherein said turbulatoris adjustable longitudinally of the combustion chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 25,858 9/1965 Matvay 232881,934,596 11/19'33 Fogas 23-277 2,728,408 12/1955 Deliman 232773,059,420 10/ 1962 Schnabel 23288 3,072,458 1/1963 Page 23288 3,211,53410/ 1965 Ridgway 23--288 3,220,179 11/ 1965 Bloomfield 23-288 3,248,8725/1966 Morrell 23-288 JOSEPH SCOVRONEK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

